TyreSafe to host part worn tyre webinar

In a bid to improve the standards of part worn tyres being sold in the UK, TyreSafe will be hosting its first ever webinar on Monday 25th February.

The free to join session will provide attendees with a summary of the legislations affecting the sale of part worn tyres. It will also deliver some practical advice on how the tyres should be inspected, common problems to look for and what steps must be taken to ensure used tyres are sold legally.

“We have some well established and very good legislation in the UK regarding the sale of part worn tyres, but as numerous investigations have shown, they’re simply not being adhered to by a large number of retailers,” explains Stuart Jackson, chairman, TyreSafe. “Those failing to comply with the regulations not only risk falling foul of the Consumer Protection Act, but more importantly risk the safety of their customers and other road users.”

It is estimated that more than four million part worn tyres are now sold annually in the UK. Each part worn tyre being sold is required to be inspected against a number of criteria covering its structural integrity, tread depth, standard of repairs as well as being permanently marked as a part worn tyre.

However, despite these clear regulations, in a recent mystery shopper investigation by TyreSafe, 98 percent of the part worn tyres it purchased failed to meet all of the regulations. More worryingly though, the independent tyre examiner commissioned to inspect the tyres found that over a third of them contained potentially dangerous forms of non-compliance.

Indeed, one tyre was described by the inspection engineer as having the “potential to kill” as it still contained a metal object penetrating 5cm through the tread in a manner which was likely to result in sudden and total tyre failure had it been fitted to a vehicle. Other serious safety breaches included dangerous and unsafe repairs, exposed cords, bead damage and evidence of runflat damage.

Tyre safety remains a significant problem in the UK. The latest figures available from the DfT show that in 2011 there were more than 1,100 tyre related casualties on the UK’s roads.

“As household finances remain squeezed, we know that more drivers are turning to part worn tyres. While we maintain that new tyres are the safest option, we need to ensure that those opting for part worns buy only those which comply with legal requirements in order to minimise any safety risks,” concluded Jackson.